It's Not '67, But Snow Adds Up To Headaches

January 27, 1997|By Julie Deardorff, Tribune Staff Writer.

It wasn't the quite the blizzard of 1967, when 6-foot snowdrifts rendered roads impassable, but transportation inched and slid along most roadways Sunday on the 30th anniversary of the 23-inch snowfall.

The Illinois State Police, flooded with over 200 calls in the morning alone, said cars were wallowing in deep ditches sometimes 100 feet from the expressways, including one particularly troubling spot at Interstate Highway 55 and Pulaski Road.

Although the forecast from the National Weather Service called for the snow to taper off Sunday night after a 1-to-3-inch accumulation, it seemed much worse for those behind the wheel.

Drivers spinning out of control caused several fender benders and accidents after crashing into poles and other immovable objects.

"I slid through a couple stop signs," admitted Anne Maller, 29, of Elmhurst, who drove from Chicago to Wheaton on Sunday without incident. "The only evidence of a snowplow was in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn."

One of the worst areas was on the Chicago Skyway, where a semitrailer truck jackknifed in the inbound lanes of the Skyway at 96th Street Sunday afternoon.

The accident closed down the northbound lanes of the Skyway between 87th and 106th Streets, and vehicles were rerouted at the 87th Street entrance ramp.

"All of the roads were equally lousy," said State Trooper Ken Mihalek. "We've had a lot of calls, a lot of fender benders. It's very slippery."

City roads were better, relatively speaking, thanks to buildings, which blocked much of the wind, and to the 250 salt trucks.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority reported several minor collisions, and the Illinois Department of Transportation dispatched about 300 salt trucks and plows and responded to numerous reports of ice-covered bridges and overpasses.